yes Time will tell if the philosophy has changed. The snow white remake has now been delayed a year I predict it will be cancelled.
DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY
- Thread starter hhisc16
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kilik64
Carefree, wherever we may be!
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wabbott
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https://www.businesswire.com/news/h...dding-an-Investor-Representative-to-the-Board
Ancora Issues Letter to Fellow Shareholders of The Walt Disney Company Regarding the Value of Adding an Investor Representative to the Board
December 05, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ancora Holdings Group, LLC (together with its affiliates, “Ancora” or “we”), which has approximately $8.7 billion in assets under management and is a shareholder of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) (“Disney” or the “Company”), today issued an open letter to fellow shareholders regarding the state of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”).
***
Fellow Shareholders,
Ancora is a shareholder of Disney because its brand, entertainment assets and media holdings can underpin sustained value creation for decades to come. We believe Disney is saying the right things about restructuring and transforming the enterprise. Nonetheless, the addition of a shareholder representative or investor-designated directors to the Board can help ensure that these efforts are carried out in the most effective way. In an effort to avert an election contest following a year of distractions and disappointing performance, we hope you join us in encouraging the Board to pursue a viable compromise with Trian Fund Management, L.P. and Nelson Peltz.
A degree of shareholder-driven change is certainly warranted in Disney’s boardroom following an extended period of absentminded governance, ineffective succession planning, polarizing actions and sustained value destruction. Many of Disney’s current directors and executives bear responsibility for lapses that have undermined the Company’s positioning in the exceedingly competitive and ever-changing entertainment world. While it has been argued that challenges largely stem from the tenure of Bob Chapek, the Board was in the driver’s seat before, during and after that time. The upshot is that Disney shareholders have incurred meaningful losses and the Company has dramatically underperformed the S&P 500 Media & Entertainment Index over various periods, including one-year, three-year and five-year horizons.
The Board’s stewardship issues have not only resulted in financial setbacks. By allowing Disney to devote shareholders’ resources to a number of politicized initiatives, the Board has overseen a deterioration of what was once the most unifying brand in the world. The Company is increasingly dividing – rather than delighting – a growing number of consumers. A recent Axios Harris Poll 100 revealed that Disney is now the fifth most polarizing brand in the world (right behind FTX).
Disney’s Board faces a number of pivotal decisions over the next 12 to 24 months as it rebuilds consumer trust and oversees a complex transformation that includes an optimization of the streaming segment, a direct-to-consumer pivot for ESPN, the evolution of the Company’s film studios and a growth plan for parks. The Board will also once again need to engage in critical succession planning. Having a sizable owner in the boardroom to bring the market’s perspective and serve as one of many voices would only benefit shareholders. While this type of director may not always be needed at Disney, we contend it is the right addition at this key moment in time.
In closing, we want to address what looks to be a self-serving publicity stunt on the part of Blackwells Capital LLC. The firm’s principal, Jason Aintabi, recently attacked Mr. Peltz’s efforts at Disney hours before reportedly launching a campaign at The Wendy’s Company, where Mr. Peltz is Chairman and the largest shareholder. We believe the record shows Mr. Aintabi is a publicity-seeking greenmailer with a questionable personal and business history.1 On the other hand, it is widely known that Mr. Peltz is a pioneer in shareholder activism, who has made billions of dollars over many decades for himself, his partners and fellow shareholders in the companies in which he has invested. Mr. Peltz (or a qualified designee) would make a fantastic addition to Disney’s Board.
Thank you for your consideration, and we wish Disney’s leadership the best as it pursues a multi-faceted turnaround of one of the world’s most iconic companies.
Sincerely,
***
About Ancora
Founded in 2003, Ancora Holdings Group, LLC offers integrated investment advisory, wealth management and retirement plan services to individuals and institutions across the United States. The firm's comprehensive service offering is complemented by a dedicated team that has the breadth of expertise and operational structure of a global institution, with the responsiveness and flexibility of a boutique firm. For more information about Ancora, please visit https://ancora.net.
1 See, for example, Cooperation Agreement and Release dated as of June 4, 2023 by and among Global Net Lease, Inc., The Necessity Retail REIT, Inc., AR Global Investments, LLC, Blackwells Capital LLC, Jason Aintabi and the other parties thereto, filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of Global Net Lease, Inc. dated June 5, 2023.
Contacts
Longacre Square Partners
Charlotte Kiaie / Olivia McCann, 646-386-0091
Ancora Issues Letter to Fellow Shareholders of The Walt Disney Company Regarding the Value of Adding an Investor Representative to the Board
December 05, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ancora Holdings Group, LLC (together with its affiliates, “Ancora” or “we”), which has approximately $8.7 billion in assets under management and is a shareholder of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) (“Disney” or the “Company”), today issued an open letter to fellow shareholders regarding the state of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”).
***
Fellow Shareholders,
Ancora is a shareholder of Disney because its brand, entertainment assets and media holdings can underpin sustained value creation for decades to come. We believe Disney is saying the right things about restructuring and transforming the enterprise. Nonetheless, the addition of a shareholder representative or investor-designated directors to the Board can help ensure that these efforts are carried out in the most effective way. In an effort to avert an election contest following a year of distractions and disappointing performance, we hope you join us in encouraging the Board to pursue a viable compromise with Trian Fund Management, L.P. and Nelson Peltz.
A degree of shareholder-driven change is certainly warranted in Disney’s boardroom following an extended period of absentminded governance, ineffective succession planning, polarizing actions and sustained value destruction. Many of Disney’s current directors and executives bear responsibility for lapses that have undermined the Company’s positioning in the exceedingly competitive and ever-changing entertainment world. While it has been argued that challenges largely stem from the tenure of Bob Chapek, the Board was in the driver’s seat before, during and after that time. The upshot is that Disney shareholders have incurred meaningful losses and the Company has dramatically underperformed the S&P 500 Media & Entertainment Index over various periods, including one-year, three-year and five-year horizons.
The Board’s stewardship issues have not only resulted in financial setbacks. By allowing Disney to devote shareholders’ resources to a number of politicized initiatives, the Board has overseen a deterioration of what was once the most unifying brand in the world. The Company is increasingly dividing – rather than delighting – a growing number of consumers. A recent Axios Harris Poll 100 revealed that Disney is now the fifth most polarizing brand in the world (right behind FTX).
Disney’s Board faces a number of pivotal decisions over the next 12 to 24 months as it rebuilds consumer trust and oversees a complex transformation that includes an optimization of the streaming segment, a direct-to-consumer pivot for ESPN, the evolution of the Company’s film studios and a growth plan for parks. The Board will also once again need to engage in critical succession planning. Having a sizable owner in the boardroom to bring the market’s perspective and serve as one of many voices would only benefit shareholders. While this type of director may not always be needed at Disney, we contend it is the right addition at this key moment in time.
In closing, we want to address what looks to be a self-serving publicity stunt on the part of Blackwells Capital LLC. The firm’s principal, Jason Aintabi, recently attacked Mr. Peltz’s efforts at Disney hours before reportedly launching a campaign at The Wendy’s Company, where Mr. Peltz is Chairman and the largest shareholder. We believe the record shows Mr. Aintabi is a publicity-seeking greenmailer with a questionable personal and business history.1 On the other hand, it is widely known that Mr. Peltz is a pioneer in shareholder activism, who has made billions of dollars over many decades for himself, his partners and fellow shareholders in the companies in which he has invested. Mr. Peltz (or a qualified designee) would make a fantastic addition to Disney’s Board.
Thank you for your consideration, and we wish Disney’s leadership the best as it pursues a multi-faceted turnaround of one of the world’s most iconic companies.
Sincerely,
| Frederick D. DiSanto | James Chadwick | |
| Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | President | |
| Ancora Holdings Group LLC | Ancora Alternatives LLC |
About Ancora
Founded in 2003, Ancora Holdings Group, LLC offers integrated investment advisory, wealth management and retirement plan services to individuals and institutions across the United States. The firm's comprehensive service offering is complemented by a dedicated team that has the breadth of expertise and operational structure of a global institution, with the responsiveness and flexibility of a boutique firm. For more information about Ancora, please visit https://ancora.net.
1 See, for example, Cooperation Agreement and Release dated as of June 4, 2023 by and among Global Net Lease, Inc., The Necessity Retail REIT, Inc., AR Global Investments, LLC, Blackwells Capital LLC, Jason Aintabi and the other parties thereto, filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of Global Net Lease, Inc. dated June 5, 2023.
Contacts
Longacre Square Partners
Charlotte Kiaie / Olivia McCann, 646-386-0091
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 6,446
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b.../charter-cfo-disney-carriage-deal-1235712426/
Charter CFO Says New Disney Carriage Deal Means Consumers No Longer “Pay Twice” for Content
Jessica Fischer said the industry should expect more streaming content to be included in the traditional cable bundle and less popular linear TV channels to be dropped.
by Etan Vlessing
December 5, 2023 11:04am PST
After Charter Communications and Disney created a new industry template for traditional pay TV with their new Spectrum carriage deal, expect more streaming content to be included in the traditional cable bundle and less popular linear TV channels to be dropped.
“We’re not willing to make our customers pay twice for content,” Jessica Fischer, CFO at Charter Communications, told the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference during a session that was webcast on Tuesday. For Charter, the recent Spectrum carriage deal struck with Disney included Disney+ landing in its base pay TV tier, which expands on the company’s vision for live TV and streaming entertainment apps to live side by side.
And the landmark agreement had Disney agreeing to drop Freeform, Nat Geo Wild, FXX, Disney Junior, Disney XD and other channels from Charter Spectrum lineups. The goal, Fischer argued, was adding streaming services to the cable bundle and reshaping the linear TV business to put a focus on popular content.
“By pushing value back into the bundle, including the SVOD service, you create value, which helps you from a consumer perception standpoint. And creating a skinnier bundle, where customers get the content that they want for a price that they’re capable of paying, creates value,” she told the investors conference.
Charter is also tamping down on the ability of content producers to double dip by getting paid by Charter for channels and charging cable subscribers directly for the same entertainment content.
“If there’s a programmer who is making their content available in a direct-to-consumer service, and our customers are paying for that content in a linear service, our expectation is that direct-to-consumer service would be a part of our bundle,” Fischer insisted.
To also recover lost market share to streamers, Charter and fellow cable giant Comcast recently unveiled their Xumo product. The Xumo interface, which is built on Comcast’s Entertainment OS platform, integrates pay TV into its platform, seamlessly integrating the live TV into the offering.
But it also puts apps front and center, populating the home page depending on what services users subscribe to. Fischer underlined how Xumo provides access to platforms consumers are on, including traditional cable and streaming platforms.
“So whether they want to access content through video or direct to consumer, they’ll be able to do that in a way that allows them to access content easily across both of those platforms in a single space,” Fischer told the UBS conference.
Charter CFO Says New Disney Carriage Deal Means Consumers No Longer “Pay Twice” for Content
Jessica Fischer said the industry should expect more streaming content to be included in the traditional cable bundle and less popular linear TV channels to be dropped.
by Etan Vlessing
December 5, 2023 11:04am PST
After Charter Communications and Disney created a new industry template for traditional pay TV with their new Spectrum carriage deal, expect more streaming content to be included in the traditional cable bundle and less popular linear TV channels to be dropped.
“We’re not willing to make our customers pay twice for content,” Jessica Fischer, CFO at Charter Communications, told the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference during a session that was webcast on Tuesday. For Charter, the recent Spectrum carriage deal struck with Disney included Disney+ landing in its base pay TV tier, which expands on the company’s vision for live TV and streaming entertainment apps to live side by side.
And the landmark agreement had Disney agreeing to drop Freeform, Nat Geo Wild, FXX, Disney Junior, Disney XD and other channels from Charter Spectrum lineups. The goal, Fischer argued, was adding streaming services to the cable bundle and reshaping the linear TV business to put a focus on popular content.
“By pushing value back into the bundle, including the SVOD service, you create value, which helps you from a consumer perception standpoint. And creating a skinnier bundle, where customers get the content that they want for a price that they’re capable of paying, creates value,” she told the investors conference.
Charter is also tamping down on the ability of content producers to double dip by getting paid by Charter for channels and charging cable subscribers directly for the same entertainment content.
“If there’s a programmer who is making their content available in a direct-to-consumer service, and our customers are paying for that content in a linear service, our expectation is that direct-to-consumer service would be a part of our bundle,” Fischer insisted.
To also recover lost market share to streamers, Charter and fellow cable giant Comcast recently unveiled their Xumo product. The Xumo interface, which is built on Comcast’s Entertainment OS platform, integrates pay TV into its platform, seamlessly integrating the live TV into the offering.
But it also puts apps front and center, populating the home page depending on what services users subscribe to. Fischer underlined how Xumo provides access to platforms consumers are on, including traditional cable and streaming platforms.
“So whether they want to access content through video or direct to consumer, they’ll be able to do that in a way that allows them to access content easily across both of those platforms in a single space,” Fischer told the UBS conference.
kilik64
Carefree, wherever we may be!
- Joined
- May 21, 2021
- Messages
- 1,381
This a big boost to the proxy fight or no?
More fallout...
Disney is not responding well to its first Marvel Studios bomb in 15 years
https://qz.com/marvels-box-office-disney-brie-larson-samuel-l-jackson-1851073400?utm_source=msn-news
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 6,446
Ancora has a very small holding of DIS.
https://fintel.io/so/us/dis/ancora-advisors-llc
| Latest Disclosed Ownership | 65,794shares |
| Latest Disclosed Value | $ 5,332,575 |
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 6,446
I should directly answer this question, since you asked. From a voting standpoint, the dab of shares they own won't matter, but the publicity may move the needle. My opinion only, though. As I've said before, if I were a brilliant investment prognosticator, I would be Uncle Scrooge rich - so much so that I would rent all of WDW for a couple of days and host several thousand of my closest DisBoard buddies with food and booze included!
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2004
- Messages
- 38,131
I have to laugh at this headline. All the directors are Investor Representatives. That's their job.
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 6,446
On paper, at least. In the real world, maybe.
I remember when this was being built at the same time as Shanghai Disney and it was supposed to be real local competition...well I guess they found out that theme parks are hard...
See inside an abandoned amusement park with ‘Walking Dead’ vibes
https://nypost.com/2023/12/05/lifes...doned-amusement-park-with-walking-dead-vibes/Elijah Abrams
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2020
- Messages
- 610
https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...2023-12-05/the-marvels-flop-disney-mcu-future
COMPANY TOWN
DEC. 5, 2023 12:31 PM PT
Walt Disney Co., whose latest superhero film “The Marvels” concluded last weekend as the lowest-grossing film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is closing out a year that has served as a rude awakening for the once-unshakeable Marvel brand.
Just three weeks after its Nov. 10 release, “The Marvels” fell out of the top 10 at the domestic box office duringthe weekend and cemented its place as the lowest-grossing film in the MCU. As of publication, the film — which opened to a disappointing $46.1 million domestically — has grossed $197.2 million worldwide, with $80.8 million coming from U.S. theaters.
Those figures pale in comparison to the studio’s 2022 releases like “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” ($859.2 million in worldwide box office), “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” ($955.8 million) and “The Marvels’” 2019 predecessor, “Captain Marvel” ($1.1 billion). And perhaps in anticipation of lackluster numbers abroad, Disney said on Sunday that it will stop reporting its weekend international grosses for the film, though it will continue sharing its domestic figures.
“The one thing that everyone in this industry can agree on is that [“The Marvels”] was an extremely disappointing performance from a film that really should have done better,” said Daniel Loria, the senior vice president of content strategy at the BoxOffice Co..
The underwhelming performance of Disney’s Marvel productions comes at a difficult time for the entertainment company. After the costly pandemic and billions of dollars spent to supercharge its streaming service, Disney+, the Bob Iger–led company has spent the last year trimming costs and cutting jobs in an attempt to build back its stock value and placate Wall Street.
But this year’s slate of Marvel projects — whose complicated, interconnected stories span across film and TV and juice Disney’s parks and consumer products business — has shown some vulnerability for the company at a time when the Marvel brand, one of the linchpins of Disney’s studio business, needs to be as strong as ever.
So what went wrong? Most notably, “The Marvels” marketing efforts lacked the typical promotional blitz featuring the film’s stars Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and “Ms. Marvel” breakout Iman Vellani due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Disney also opted to keep the film’s Nov. 10 release date, even as rival studios pushed back the release of major fall tentpoles in response to the strike, as Warner Bros. did with its “Dune” sequel. The actors union reached its tentative deal with the studios Nov. 8.
“There’s a way you market these things,” Loria said. “Disney has been great at marketing these types of movies. They weren’t able to do it the way they used to. Every other major studio stepped back from attempting it. Disney stuck with a date and, unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”
“The Marvels” wasn’t the first sign of trouble for the MCU. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” which arrived in theaters in February to poor reviews, quickly lost momentum after a promising opening weekend, raising concerns over the quality of the studio’s films. James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” however, was a big hit.
Viewers were also inundated with a deluge of new Marvel releases on Disney+, like the second season of “Loki” and the Samuel L. Jackson–starring “Secret Invasion” miniseries. Combined with the mixed reception for 2021’s “Eternals” and 2022’s “Thor: Love and Thunder,” even Iger has admitted that the studio’s quality has “suffered greatly” from its increased output of Marvel-branded projects across film and TV.
In an interview at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit last week, Iger blamed the pandemic and unrealistically high standards for “The Marvels’” disappointment.
“We set the bar so high,” Iger said. “Year after year after year, we had the best performance in the business probably for a decade, and I’m not sure another studio will ever achieve some of the numbers that we achieved.... I mean, we got to the point where if a film didn’t do a billion dollars in global box office, we were disappointed. That’s an unbelievably high standard, and I think we have to get more realistic.”
He also suggested that viewers’ streaming habits contributed to lower turnout at the theaters for “The Marvels,” a factor analysts cited as well.
“One of the downsides of the Disney+ series and releasing so much Marvel content around the calendar is that the theatrical experience has been somewhat de-emphasized, so you’re seeing that [box office decline] as audiences have somewhat been trained to expect blockbuster MCU content at home,” said Brandon Katz, an analyst with the data firm Parrot Analytics.
“The Marvels” may benefit from a streaming bump when the film lands on Disney+, as has been the case for other recent MCU releases, Katz said.
“You see more people catching up at home, you see more people watching MCU TV series alongside the MCU movies,” Katz said. “So there really has been that shift. And I think what we’re seeing with Disney now, since basically mid-Phase Four, is they are slowly trying to retrain audiences to prioritize the theatrical experience once more.”
It’s not immediately clear how Disney may begin pulling back on its volume of Marvel material. The company has previously outlined a release schedule through 2025 for what is known as “Phase Five” of the MCU driven by films including “Deadpool 3,” “Captain America: Brave New World,” and “Fantastic Four.”
Due to production delays caused by the strike, “Deadpool 3” is set to be the only Disney-released Marvel title planned for next year, though audiences will still see Marvel characters on screen via Sony Pictures’ “Madame Web,” “Kraven the Hunter,” and “Venom 3.”
Other entries — like those featuring the villain Kang the Conqueror, who was previously touted by Marvel boss Kevin Feige as a key character for “Phase Five” — remain in limbo as star Jonathan Majors is currently on trial for misdemeanor assault.
When it comes to the quality of Marvel’s next productions, Disney will be tasked with refreshing the superhero category it catapulted into the mainstream for increasingly discerning audiences.
“I don’t think that it’s audiences being done with superhero movies,” Loria said. “I think it’s audiences expecting something different from their superhero movies or franchises.”
COMPANY TOWN
After ‘The Marvels’ flop, questions mount for Disney over MCU’s future
BY J. CLARA CHANSTAFF WRITERDEC. 5, 2023 12:31 PM PT
Walt Disney Co., whose latest superhero film “The Marvels” concluded last weekend as the lowest-grossing film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is closing out a year that has served as a rude awakening for the once-unshakeable Marvel brand.
Just three weeks after its Nov. 10 release, “The Marvels” fell out of the top 10 at the domestic box office duringthe weekend and cemented its place as the lowest-grossing film in the MCU. As of publication, the film — which opened to a disappointing $46.1 million domestically — has grossed $197.2 million worldwide, with $80.8 million coming from U.S. theaters.
Those figures pale in comparison to the studio’s 2022 releases like “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” ($859.2 million in worldwide box office), “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” ($955.8 million) and “The Marvels’” 2019 predecessor, “Captain Marvel” ($1.1 billion). And perhaps in anticipation of lackluster numbers abroad, Disney said on Sunday that it will stop reporting its weekend international grosses for the film, though it will continue sharing its domestic figures.
“The one thing that everyone in this industry can agree on is that [“The Marvels”] was an extremely disappointing performance from a film that really should have done better,” said Daniel Loria, the senior vice president of content strategy at the BoxOffice Co..
The underwhelming performance of Disney’s Marvel productions comes at a difficult time for the entertainment company. After the costly pandemic and billions of dollars spent to supercharge its streaming service, Disney+, the Bob Iger–led company has spent the last year trimming costs and cutting jobs in an attempt to build back its stock value and placate Wall Street.
But this year’s slate of Marvel projects — whose complicated, interconnected stories span across film and TV and juice Disney’s parks and consumer products business — has shown some vulnerability for the company at a time when the Marvel brand, one of the linchpins of Disney’s studio business, needs to be as strong as ever.
So what went wrong? Most notably, “The Marvels” marketing efforts lacked the typical promotional blitz featuring the film’s stars Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and “Ms. Marvel” breakout Iman Vellani due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Disney also opted to keep the film’s Nov. 10 release date, even as rival studios pushed back the release of major fall tentpoles in response to the strike, as Warner Bros. did with its “Dune” sequel. The actors union reached its tentative deal with the studios Nov. 8.
“There’s a way you market these things,” Loria said. “Disney has been great at marketing these types of movies. They weren’t able to do it the way they used to. Every other major studio stepped back from attempting it. Disney stuck with a date and, unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”
“The Marvels” wasn’t the first sign of trouble for the MCU. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” which arrived in theaters in February to poor reviews, quickly lost momentum after a promising opening weekend, raising concerns over the quality of the studio’s films. James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” however, was a big hit.
Viewers were also inundated with a deluge of new Marvel releases on Disney+, like the second season of “Loki” and the Samuel L. Jackson–starring “Secret Invasion” miniseries. Combined with the mixed reception for 2021’s “Eternals” and 2022’s “Thor: Love and Thunder,” even Iger has admitted that the studio’s quality has “suffered greatly” from its increased output of Marvel-branded projects across film and TV.
In an interview at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit last week, Iger blamed the pandemic and unrealistically high standards for “The Marvels’” disappointment.
“We set the bar so high,” Iger said. “Year after year after year, we had the best performance in the business probably for a decade, and I’m not sure another studio will ever achieve some of the numbers that we achieved.... I mean, we got to the point where if a film didn’t do a billion dollars in global box office, we were disappointed. That’s an unbelievably high standard, and I think we have to get more realistic.”
He also suggested that viewers’ streaming habits contributed to lower turnout at the theaters for “The Marvels,” a factor analysts cited as well.
“One of the downsides of the Disney+ series and releasing so much Marvel content around the calendar is that the theatrical experience has been somewhat de-emphasized, so you’re seeing that [box office decline] as audiences have somewhat been trained to expect blockbuster MCU content at home,” said Brandon Katz, an analyst with the data firm Parrot Analytics.
“The Marvels” may benefit from a streaming bump when the film lands on Disney+, as has been the case for other recent MCU releases, Katz said.
“You see more people catching up at home, you see more people watching MCU TV series alongside the MCU movies,” Katz said. “So there really has been that shift. And I think what we’re seeing with Disney now, since basically mid-Phase Four, is they are slowly trying to retrain audiences to prioritize the theatrical experience once more.”
It’s not immediately clear how Disney may begin pulling back on its volume of Marvel material. The company has previously outlined a release schedule through 2025 for what is known as “Phase Five” of the MCU driven by films including “Deadpool 3,” “Captain America: Brave New World,” and “Fantastic Four.”
Due to production delays caused by the strike, “Deadpool 3” is set to be the only Disney-released Marvel title planned for next year, though audiences will still see Marvel characters on screen via Sony Pictures’ “Madame Web,” “Kraven the Hunter,” and “Venom 3.”
Other entries — like those featuring the villain Kang the Conqueror, who was previously touted by Marvel boss Kevin Feige as a key character for “Phase Five” — remain in limbo as star Jonathan Majors is currently on trial for misdemeanor assault.
When it comes to the quality of Marvel’s next productions, Disney will be tasked with refreshing the superhero category it catapulted into the mainstream for increasingly discerning audiences.
“I don’t think that it’s audiences being done with superhero movies,” Loria said. “I think it’s audiences expecting something different from their superhero movies or franchises.”
Elijah Abrams
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2020
- Messages
- 610
https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...ix-it-era-whats-next-for-disney-the-wide-shot
COMPANY TOWN
DEC. 5, 2023 7 AM PT
After the year of negative headlines Walt Disney Co. has had, I suppose it’s not exactly a shock that Chief Executive Bob Iger is facing renewed pressure from a prominent activist investor.
The stock has limped along like Snow White’s little helpers after a tough day in the mine, though it got a boost last month after the company said it narrowed its quarterly streaming losses by more than $1 billion while Disney+ continued to gain subscribers.
Despite Disney cutting 8,000 jobs and targeting $7.5 billion in cost savings (which is $2 billion more than Iger previously promised to Wall Street), hedge fund billionaire Nelson Peltz revived his proxy campaign against the company, aiming for multiple board seats. Peltz’s firm, Trian Fund Management, said in a statement last week that it would take its “case for change directly to shareholders” after Disney turned down its request for board representation.
Peltz’s effort has considerable backing from former Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, who sold the comic book publisher to Iger in 2009 and was later sidelined from the movie side and finally ousted in March, though he remains a major shareholder.
There are legitimate concerns about Disney’s business, which is why Iger has spent so much of his first year back in Mr. Fix It mode, floating the idea of selling off TV networks, overhauling the company’s structure and plowing forth on a plan to offer its flagship ESPN sports network direct-to-consumer. Cable and broadcast TV are in decline. Streaming is expensive and still losing money.
And the movies? Ouch.
“The Marvels” bombed, “Haunted Mansion” flopped, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” was a big disappointment and the 100th anniversary-pegged animated movie “Wish” is struggling. It hasn’t been all bad. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” was a hit and Pixar’s “Elemental” at least recovered from its weak opening, proving a good movie can catch on when the word gets out to kids and parents. But overall, not great.
That said, it’s not obvious what Peltz, now a recurring thorn in the side for the company, would like Iger to do differently. Iger has acknowledged Disney’s problems (more on that later) and taken steps to address them. As corporate governance expert Charles Elson told Yahoo Finance, this is going to be a big distraction for Disney.
Disney responded to Peltz’s missive by noting that Perlmutter, who according to the company holds 78% of the shares Trian claims beneficial ownership of, has voiced a “longstanding personal agenda” against Iger. The company has made moves to shore up investor confidence by naming two new board members — Morgan Stanley CEO James P. Gorman and former Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch — and declaring its first dividend in more than three years.
Another shareholder, Blackwells Capital, issued its own statement expressing concern that “Trian’s campaign prioritizes Mr. Peltz’s ego over what is best for all Disney shareholders.” Analyst Ric Prentiss of Raymond James wrote in a note to clients that “we do not believe Trian has made it clear what exactly it would change at Disney,” in contrast with other, more clear-cut activist campaigns. What should Disney do? Cut more? Un-buy Fox?
Iger spent much of last week talking about what still needs to be done at Disney, and explaining how it got where it is now. “The Marvels” production suffered from a lack of supervision during COVID, he intimated. The studios must focus on quality over quantity. Bad movies shouldn’t get sequels. And when he hinted months ago that he might be willing to sell or spin off ABC and other networks? That was more of a trial balloon he floated while thinking out loud, he suggested.
In a bit of an eyebrow-raising comment, he told Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit that the company must make sure to prioritize entertainment over messages in Disney content, which was widely interpreted as a concession to those who’ve accused the studio of going too woke.
It’s easy to see why Iger might be eager to move on to a new phase in his second reign at the company he previously ran for 15 years with a remarkable track record of success. “I can tell you that building is a lot more fun than fixing,” Iger said at last week’s town hall meeting for staff, moderated by ABC News’ anchor David Muir. But hey, the most fun part is yet to come: succession planning for 2026.
COMPANY TOWN
After Bob Iger’s ‘Mr. Fix It’ era, what’s next in the Disney proxy fight?
BY RYAN FAUGHNDERCOMPANY TOWN SENIOR EDITORDEC. 5, 2023 7 AM PT
After the year of negative headlines Walt Disney Co. has had, I suppose it’s not exactly a shock that Chief Executive Bob Iger is facing renewed pressure from a prominent activist investor.
The stock has limped along like Snow White’s little helpers after a tough day in the mine, though it got a boost last month after the company said it narrowed its quarterly streaming losses by more than $1 billion while Disney+ continued to gain subscribers.
Despite Disney cutting 8,000 jobs and targeting $7.5 billion in cost savings (which is $2 billion more than Iger previously promised to Wall Street), hedge fund billionaire Nelson Peltz revived his proxy campaign against the company, aiming for multiple board seats. Peltz’s firm, Trian Fund Management, said in a statement last week that it would take its “case for change directly to shareholders” after Disney turned down its request for board representation.
Peltz’s effort has considerable backing from former Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, who sold the comic book publisher to Iger in 2009 and was later sidelined from the movie side and finally ousted in March, though he remains a major shareholder.
There are legitimate concerns about Disney’s business, which is why Iger has spent so much of his first year back in Mr. Fix It mode, floating the idea of selling off TV networks, overhauling the company’s structure and plowing forth on a plan to offer its flagship ESPN sports network direct-to-consumer. Cable and broadcast TV are in decline. Streaming is expensive and still losing money.
And the movies? Ouch.
“The Marvels” bombed, “Haunted Mansion” flopped, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” was a big disappointment and the 100th anniversary-pegged animated movie “Wish” is struggling. It hasn’t been all bad. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” was a hit and Pixar’s “Elemental” at least recovered from its weak opening, proving a good movie can catch on when the word gets out to kids and parents. But overall, not great.
That said, it’s not obvious what Peltz, now a recurring thorn in the side for the company, would like Iger to do differently. Iger has acknowledged Disney’s problems (more on that later) and taken steps to address them. As corporate governance expert Charles Elson told Yahoo Finance, this is going to be a big distraction for Disney.
Disney responded to Peltz’s missive by noting that Perlmutter, who according to the company holds 78% of the shares Trian claims beneficial ownership of, has voiced a “longstanding personal agenda” against Iger. The company has made moves to shore up investor confidence by naming two new board members — Morgan Stanley CEO James P. Gorman and former Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch — and declaring its first dividend in more than three years.
Another shareholder, Blackwells Capital, issued its own statement expressing concern that “Trian’s campaign prioritizes Mr. Peltz’s ego over what is best for all Disney shareholders.” Analyst Ric Prentiss of Raymond James wrote in a note to clients that “we do not believe Trian has made it clear what exactly it would change at Disney,” in contrast with other, more clear-cut activist campaigns. What should Disney do? Cut more? Un-buy Fox?
Iger spent much of last week talking about what still needs to be done at Disney, and explaining how it got where it is now. “The Marvels” production suffered from a lack of supervision during COVID, he intimated. The studios must focus on quality over quantity. Bad movies shouldn’t get sequels. And when he hinted months ago that he might be willing to sell or spin off ABC and other networks? That was more of a trial balloon he floated while thinking out loud, he suggested.
In a bit of an eyebrow-raising comment, he told Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit that the company must make sure to prioritize entertainment over messages in Disney content, which was widely interpreted as a concession to those who’ve accused the studio of going too woke.
It’s easy to see why Iger might be eager to move on to a new phase in his second reign at the company he previously ran for 15 years with a remarkable track record of success. “I can tell you that building is a lot more fun than fixing,” Iger said at last week’s town hall meeting for staff, moderated by ABC News’ anchor David Muir. But hey, the most fun part is yet to come: succession planning for 2026.
Disney Bobby
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2019
- Messages
- 710
"Building is a lot more fun than fixing"?
"Making a mess is a lot more fun than cleaning it up" is more accurate. Or "blowing money like a drunken sailor is more fun than paying that tab".
Unreal the lack of self-awareness in these folks.
"Making a mess is a lot more fun than cleaning it up" is more accurate. Or "blowing money like a drunken sailor is more fun than paying that tab".
Unreal the lack of self-awareness in these folks.
croschek05
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2009
- Messages
- 128
Brian Noble
Gratefully in Recovery
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2004
- Messages
- 18,062
John Carter would like a word.
etherealcaitiff
Rumors and news lurker
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2014
- Messages
- 200
As one of the 14 people that saw Wish, I thought it was odd that they had "7 Dwarfs" characters that were all non-dwarf people, AND Disney had planned to do the same thing for another movie that was planned to be released within a year of that. It seems really odd that the same hair-brained idea was chosen to be used twice in such short time. If you've ever heard the story of Kevin Smith's Superman Lives where a producer was hung up on having Superman fight a mechanical spider and just would not let it go. Then that producer worked on Wild Wild West.
BrianL
Doom Buggy Driver
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2013
- Messages
- 26,527
They were not the Seven Dwarfs in Wish, they were just intended to be evocative of such. It's a pastiche if you will. There is also still zero evidence that Dinsey intended to use those live actors as the Dwarfs in the live action movie. They were always going to be CGI and look similar to the animated version. Those actors were either the stand-ins, or different characters altogether. People keep pushing that idea to knock the movie and show how far they deviated, when the final product is likely to at least look very similar to the original (though in my opinion more deviation from the original would be better, but that's not really germaine to this matter).
etherealcaitiff
Rumors and news lurker
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2014
- Messages
- 200
Yeah obviously they weren't literally the 7 dwarfs from the 1937 movie, but it was an obvious homage. Regardless of if they were going to use the people from that image, or if they were going to use "magical creatures" as Disney themselves official announced, it is odd that they would have 2 non-standard representations originally planned.
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